Can You Shoot Down Drones In VA? What To Know

VIRGINIA — The mysterious drone sightings that have baffled residents of multiple states, including Virginia, since mid-November are prompting a universal question: Is it legal to shoot down a drone in the Commonwealth?

Here’s the short answer: It’s not, nor is it legal anywhere in the United States under federal law. Virginia residents who violate federal law face criminal charges, civil penalties or both.

The question was initially raised by U.S. Rep. Chris Smith, a Republican from New Jersey, where multiple sightings of the unmanned aircraft have been frustrating residents for weeks. Last week, Smith urged the Pentagon to authorize use of force to bring down drones after they were spotted tailing a Coast Guard vessel off the Jersey shore.

“Why can’t we bag at least one of these drones and get to the bottom of it?” Smith said.

The Federal Aviation Administration includes drones in its definition of aircraft under the Aircraft Sabotage Act, and it’s a federal offense to damage or destroy it, even if it’s flying over private property.

According to AirSight, Virginia has multiple laws on drone usage, including prohibiting cities and counties from regulating drone use; requiring law enforcement agencies and other public institutions to obtain a search warrant to use an unmanned aircraft unless an Amber, Senior or Blue Alert is in effect; and warrants are not required when drones are used for flood and wildfire assessment, among other public purposes.

"In no case may a weaponized unmanned aircraft system be deployed in the Commonwealth or its use facilitated in the Commonwealth by a state or local government department, agency, or instrumentality or department of law enforcement in the Commonwealth except in operations at the Space Port and Naval/Aegis facilities at Wallops Island," AirSight said.

Federal military units and the Virginia National Guard may use unmanned aircraft systems during training required to maintain readiness for their mission.

Drone usage is prohibited in other cases, including trespassing on a property, to capture images of a person without permission or to violate a protective order. Laws that apply are:

HB 2350 Peeping or spying into dwelling or occupied building by electronic device; penalty. Makes it a Class 1 misdemeanor to use UAS to trespass upon the property of another for the purpose of secretly or furtively peeping, spying, or attempting to peep or spy into a dwelling or occupied building located on such property.

18.2-121.3. Trespass with an unmanned aircraft system; penalty.
18.2-324.2. Use of unmanned aircraft system for certain purposes; penalty.
B. It is unlawful for a respondent of a protective order issued pursuant to §16.1-279.1 or 19.2-152.10 to knowingly and intentionally use or operate an unmanned aircraft system to follow, contact, or capture images of the petitioner of the protective order or any other individual named in the protective order.

And, the website said federal airspace laws take precedence over state drone laws. If a state or local law directly conflicts with FAA regulations, the state or local law is likely to be invalidated.

Virginia is among nearly a dozen Eastern states that have reported drones buzzing overhead, some flying alone or in pairs but also in a cluster of drones. Some are as large as an SUV.

Gov. Glenn Youngkin has raised concerns over multiple drones spotted in the state, which is home to many national security sites. He said Saturday that federal authorities have not been forthcoming about sharing information.

“The Commonwealth of Virginia is home to a significant number of national security and critical infrastructure sites upon which our nation depends each and every day. I remain deeply concerned that Virginia has consistently sought information from federal partners, and to date, the information shared with the Commonwealth has been insufficient,” Youngkin said in a statement.

Former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan on Friday confirmed he saw what appeared to be dozens of large drones above his Anne Arundel County home, and went on to slam the federal government's "negligent response" amid growing concerns over similar sightings.

In a statement posted on X, accompanied by a video of the unidentified objects in the night sky, Hogan said, "I do not know if this increasing activity over our skies is a threat to public safety or national security. But the public is growing increasingly concerned and frustrated with the complete lack of transparency and the dismissive attitude of the federal government."

Recently, NBC Washington reported that several drones were spotted in the skies over Bowie.

Political leaders are calling the federal government to deploy high-tech drone hunters using recently declassified technology to help unravel the mystery that has baffled and alarmed residents of the Northeast over the past four weeks.

This weekend, an airport was shut down for about an hour Friday in New York’s Hudson Valley because of drone activity in the airspace. Two men were arrested and accused of operating a drone “dangerously close” to Boston’s Logan International Airport Saturday night. Also, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton, Ohio, was shut down for about four hours late Friday and early Saturday because drones were too close.

“This has gone too far,” New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said in a statement after Stewart International Airport in New Windsor, New York, was shut down. Hochul supports reform legislation strengthening the FAA’s oversight of drones, and extending the same authority to select state and local law enforcement agencies.

In a news conference Sunday, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-New York) urged the Department of Homeland Security to deploy high-tech drone hunters using the technology that was initially developed

“If the technology exists for a drone to make it up into the sky, there certainly is the technology that can track the craft with precision and determine what the heck is going on,” Schumer said.

The federal government has offered few answers about the mysterious unmanned flights. The Biden administration has come under criticism from President-elect Donald Trump for not dealing with the matter more aggressively.

In a call with reporters Saturday that was organized by the White House, senior officials from the FBI, Pentagon, Federal Aviation Administration and other agencies sought to assure people that the drones are not a national security or public safety threat, or the handiwork of a malicious foreign actor.

The White House has said a review of the reported sightings shows that many of them are actually manned aircraft being flown lawfully, echoing the opinion of officials and drone experts.

The federal Homeland Security Department and FBI also said in a joint statement they have no evidence that the sightings pose “a national security or public safety threat or have a foreign nexus.”

The White House said there are about 1 million licensed drones in the United States, and an estimated 8,000 in the sky at any given time. Drones are increasingly used by multiple industries, among them agriculture, real estate, construction, insurance and telecommunications. They’re also used in search and rescue operations, disaster response and by law enforcement.

The Associated Press contributed reporting.